Aerith had helped others find absolution so that they could be reborn. Jessie and Dyne were already out there, the darkness was only in a few pockets now and-
-they were gone?
Aerith checked again and found a trace of the Dark Lifestream, corrupted by Sephiroth, burning with a light that seemed to be of many colors.
What?
There was a tug on her after the last of it had gone. An image of blue eyes and hair the color of straw.
Cloud?
The contract was before her then. Someone needed a friend. Someone needed help.
Curious at this new development, Aerith answered.
The Hokage was present as he had gotten word from an ANBU who'd kept track of things.
He noticed that yellowish-furred Inuzuka dog, muzzle gray with age, sitting at one entry to the courtyard and blocking it from casual traffic.
There were several ANBU present, some quite obviously curious. Ibiki Morino had even gotten time away from his duties and was eating a sandwich not too far away.
"Lunch break," said Ibiki when he noticed the Hokage had noticed him.
Jiraiya was nearby too, so the Hokage glanced at him next.
"I've looked it over," said Jiraiya. "It's an interesting variant on a summoning scroll. Open-ended as to what is summoned, however - you see those scrolls spread out to intersect the main scroll? Those are filter conditions. One is that the being summoned has to be friendly towards Naruto."
"Interesting," said the Hokage. He looked down. "There are three of them crossing the first one. What are the other two?"
"The second one intersects the summon and the filter and deals with the search itself and that the summoned must agree to the summons. There's -" Jiraiya paused. "Music?"
A sphere of pink light had formed, and music could be heard soft on the breeze.
"Straight on this long continuing road,
There is surely something to believe in."
Female, decided the Hokage. Young, yet older than Naruto.
"Like a traveler in the midst of the wind,
I have my eyes on the Northern sky."
Sounded like something a sailor would say, decided the Hokage. Combined with the first verse, that might mean a trader or other form of merchant.
"The passionate feelings
That were beginning to vanish
Once again sway in radiance in my chest."
So this summoned merchant-girl had lost hope but now the summons had given her hope? Something like that perhaps? The Hokage was curious as the sphere deformed, becoming more iris shaped.
"The plants," whispered Jiraiya.
"I don't want the tears to spill,
As so not to lose to my weaker self."
To the Hokage, this reinforced his earlier thought about the nature of the one being summoned. Possibly a shipwreck or similar victim of any number of things that could happen to those who travelled away from the cities.
His eyes though, had picked out what had drawn Jiraiya's comment. Down there in the courtyard, the grass that was in narrow strips along the walls was putting forth flowers.
"In eyes holding only an unadorned spirit
there are great
Unseen Wings."
Someone originally from the Land of Earth perhaps? The Hokage wasn't sure about that stanza, but if the flowers were any indication - it might be someone who had a Wood Release talent. That would indicate Senju descent and would be VERY interesting indeed.
"I open my arms while singing,
To embrace the continuation of time,
To be tied to life."
Perhaps the music was something to do with the summoning itself? The Hokage glanced at Jiraiya, planning to ask later.
The pink light snapped off and a girl dropped.
Jiraiya managed to get beneath and grab her before she could hit the pavement.
Ibiki didn't glance up as the Hokage entered the hospital room. "Was conscious for about five minutes. Doctor states dehydration, exhaustion, probably hasn't eaten in a long time. Some evidence of memory loss. Name of Aerith Gainsborough. Age apparently mid-20s. Some knowledge of medical equipment as she recognized the equipment here. Then there's that."
The Hokage glanced towards the vase, from which a profusion of flowers had overgrown the container.
"If she's not Wood Release, she's close to it," said Ibiki.
"So possibly someone of a Senju relation, or else an experiment such as Orochimaru performed," said the Hokage with a nod. "That makes her of interest to Konohagakure itself."
Ibiki nodded. She was, of course, not a current threat. There was also no evidence that she was a shinobi of any kind. "Evidence that she's been an invalid for awhile."
"I was thinking shipwreck victim or left adrift," said the Hokage.
"That would fit - if she was covered from the sun during that period," said Ibiki.
Aerith wasn't sure of much. She knew that there were gaps in her memory.
"Try reaching out with your chakra," said the heavily scarred man.
The wilted rose quivered, then slowly began to straighten.
Aerith nearly sagged from exhaustion.
Ibiki noticed as he made notes in the little notebook he kept in a vest pocket. "Take a seat. Catch your breath."
"What do you mean 'not Wood Release'?" asked the Hokage.
"More like 'Life Release' but not in the usual ninja manner of releasing someone from life," said Ibiki. "Natural medic. Seems to grasp the basics of medical ninjutsu on an instinctive level."
"Well, that's pretty useful, but the rumor that she's a Senju relative that Naruto somehow managed to recover from near death on a Northern Sea shipwreck has pretty much gone over the entire village," said the Hokage. "That reminds me, have office personnel checked over to find out who leaked that."
"And terminate them messily?" asked Ibiki hopefully.
"No. Whoever it is got the word out better than if I had gathered up the available ninja and made a pronouncement from the window. Figure out who it is and we'll be able to feed them whatever BS we want to mislead people with," said the Hokage. "As it is, Gainsborough-san will have to end up working in the hospital when she's not being Naruto's 'big sister' - that ought to take care of a few things as well."
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(Posted Tue, 14 Jan 2014 16:32)
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